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  • Podocarpus: Coniferopsida: Fouzia Youseph M.SC Botany (Sem2)

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    PODOCARPUS

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    585 views9 pages

    Podocarpus: Coniferopsida: Fouzia Youseph M.SC Botany (Sem2)

    Uploaded by

    Fouzia Youseph

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 9

    PODOCARPUS :

    CONIFEROPSIDA
    Fouzia Youseph
    M.Sc Botany(sem2)
    Podocarpus
    • Podocarpus, represented by over 110 species, is not only the
    largest genus of Podocarpaceae, it is also the largest genus of
    all present-day conifers.
    • It is widely represented in western hemisphere extending from
    Patagonia to West Indies, and in eastern hemisphere
    extending from New Zealand to Japan and Myanmar.
    • Majority of the species are tall trees reading up to 40 to 60
    metres or more in height.
    • Several species are shrubs and Podocarpus ustus is a partial
    parasite on the roots of Dacrydium toxoids.
    • It is perhaps the only parasitic conifer known.
    • Leaves in most of the species are spirally arranged but
    in some they are also opposite decussate. They reach
    up to 30cm in length and 5cm in breadth in some
    species while in some other species they are scale-like
    and minute.
    • The male cones (Fig. 11 53A,C) have several spirally
    arranged microsporophyll’s. In Podocarpus
    macrophylla the cones are quite long bodies. Each
    microsporophyll possesses two microsporangia. In the
    microsporangia of mature cones are present a large
    number of pollen grains. Each pollen grain has two
    wings. Microsporangium development is of
    eusporangiate type.
    • The sporangial wall is 5-7 layered, of which the
    innermost layer functions as a tapetum. Each
    pollen grain develops into a male
    gametophyte.
    • Male pro-thallus cells are 1-8 in number in
    different species of Podocarpus.
    • The spermatogenous cell or body cell divides
    into three unequal male gametes.
    • According to Konar and Oberoi (1969) there
    are only two male gametes in P. gracilior.
    • The female cone is generally unstrobiloid i.e. it is not a compact cone-
    like body.
    • It is a uniovulate or bi-ovulate structure situated at the top of a
    flattened short segment in Podocarpus macrophylla.
    • The ovule-bearing segment also contains a few reduced leaves.
    • The ovule remains enclosed completely or partially by the folded
    ovuliferous scale, which represents epimatium.
    • In P. spicatus the female cones appear like loose spikes, and the
    epimatium remains fused with the integument throughout its length.
    • In P. ferruginens, however, the integument remains fused with the
    epimatium only at its chalazal end.
    • The ovule is erect and anatropous (Fig. 11.53D).
    • In P. gracilior the integument is slightly larger than the epimatium.
    • The female gametophyte remains enclosed by the nucellus.
    • The endosperm and the archegonial complex are present in the female
    gametophyte.
    • The megaspore mother cell in P. gracilior and some other species lies
    quite deep in the nucellus tissue.
    • It divides meiotically and form a linear tetrad of four megaspores in P.
    gracilior and P. falcatus.
    • After the formation of several free nuclei in the megaspore and prior to
    the start of wall formation, the female gametophyte passes through a long
    resting period.
    • Wall formation is centripetal.
    • The archegonia develop in groups of 15 to 25 in different species.
    • They are oval with round base in P. gracilior (Fig. 11.53E) and long with
    pointed base in P. andinus. Archegonial neck consists of 4-6 cells arranged
    in a single tier in P. gracilior.
    • Pollination is anemophillous in most of the species.
    • In P.gracilior the pollen tube is extensively branched and enters the
    archegonium laterally.
    • Fusion between the male and female nuclei occurs in the upper part of
    the archegonium
    • In Podocarpus amarus, P.andinus, P gracilior etc., the zygotic nucleus
    divides and re-divides five times to form as many as 32 free nuclei. Some
    of these free nuclei in P.gracilior move towards the upper part of the
    archegonium.
    • They persist for sometime or degenerate and are called relict nuclei.
    • Wall formation soon starts forming a lower tier of 9 to 12 embryonal
    cells and upper open tier of remaining cells.
    • The cells of the upper open tier divide and form a middle suspensor tier
    and an open upper tier (Fig. 11.53F).
    • Several cells of the embryonal tier are bi-nucleate.
    • Long suspensor cells push the embryonal cells into the gametophyte.
    • Embryo tetrad stage is resulted due to the
    nuclear division and wall formation in the bi-
    nucleate embryonal cells.
    • P.gracilior shows cleavage polyembryony while
    several other Podocarpus species (e.g., P.
    spicatus) show simple polyembryony.

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